


Not Yet Star Struck | Tsukkiyama

by baguantte



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, AsaNoya - Freeform, Bokuaka - Freeform, Emotionally Constipated Tsukishima, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Haikyuu - Freeform, M/M, Messy Writing, Tsukiyama - Freeform, Volleyball, daisuga - Freeform, multiple pairs - Freeform, soft, wtf are emotions, yachiguchi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:34:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21830806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baguantte/pseuds/baguantte
Summary: Tsukishima was never very sure how to handle vague emotions, much less interpret them.But he's felt this decapitation feeling before, and he wasn't very fond of the feeling.He just didn't get why he felt it when his best friend began seeing someone.Yeah it's a tsukkiyama fanfic because I have zero self control and it's fun to get back to writing again.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1: Class duties and Hair ties

In all respects Yamaguchi Tadashi was not a courageous man.

Sometimes there were instances where he had fits of, for lack of a better term, guts, but in this particular instance it seemed to be fleeting. 

It was after school and as much as Yamaguchi wished to be on the court right about now, practicing his serves and occasionally hitting Tsukishima on the back of the head. Yes, he would give him a mean side eye and he would apologize softly but at least he would have company. 

Unfortunately he was stuck with cleaning duty for his class and he wasn’t the type to wave off class responsibilities.

Like any good anime character he took the chalkboard eraser and a steel baton and hit it periodically, plumes of chalk dust spilling out with each strike. Careful not to drop it he walked over to the open window to look at the overstretched clouds strained against the aging sky, blue to pink to orange. Winter was fast approaching and the cold nipped at Yamaguchi's nose along with the barren branches of the dark standing trees on campus. 

Looking down at the gym he caught a glimpse of Hinata's fiery hair zipping and popping up through the windows. Yamaguchi swore he could hear the familiar loud chatter between Hinata and Kageyama as they always would have at least one useless fight. 

He tapped the eraser faster, impatience starting to creep up on him as he watched from afar. Although he could suppose this isn’t too different from official matches, watching from the sidelines, wanting the feeling of the volleyball at his fingertips. 

This isn’t something he should dwell upon. He was apart of the team and he knew that. He wasn’t an outsider and they did not exclude him, there were just better players that could be in the court. Of course he used his time on the sidelines to cheer and observe the ongoing game and see what he could do better and size up the competition but it didn’t remove the sense of longing in his chest. 

Running across the courtyard to the gym was the timid little blonde herself, Hitoka Yachi. 

Yamaguchi will admit he thought she was pretty cute. Her blonde hair, the way her excitement (and unfortunately her anxiety as well) was infectious, he might dare to say he had a small, budding crush on her. But if he was being honest he found almost everyone pretty in their own regards. 

Thinking another boy is pretty or handsome should not be considered gay, thinking it is is a product of toxic masculinity and male stereotypes. Luckily his parents never imposed those types of ideals onto him but two good parents aren’t nearly enough to overturn society’s outlooks. His bullies in grade school did a considerable amount on his self esteem and outspokenness, and teachers advice to ‘man up’ and ‘boys will be boys’ did not help either. 

He didn’t really make sense of sayings about boys. If boys are supposed to be mean to each other then Yamaguchi wasn’t sure if he was comfortable with being one. Being called a boy greatly troubled him for a while before he had an ephiany one night in the sixth grade that he was totally fine with being a boy, he just detested and renounced all the negative connotations that was fixated on the term ‘boy’. It was all just stupid bullshit that he’d rather due without but he wasn’t going to profess his opinions. Who would even listen?

Well, he did talk to Tsukki a couple of times and he was more or less indifferent to no one's surprise. Though, in a way, that was one of the many qualities that Yamaguchi admired about him, his ability to not waste a thought in his mind to everything wrong in the world and those who wrong him. At least to an extent? When things are blatantly wrong and happening in front of him, for instance Yamaguchi being pushed to the ground for having freckles of all things, he called them out. 

Not that he went on a righteous speal of how bullying is wrong, just pointed out their flaws and left. Done and done. Yamaguchi wish he had the mental fortitude to not care or think about these things but they bothered Yamaguchi too much. It was so unfair how the world functioned and it started to make him feel resigned. 

Holy hell these are not thoughts to have when cleaning a classroom. 

After the plumes of the chalkboard eraser had decreased and was now a dark grey color instead of a stark white he tucked it under his arm as he used his fingers to clean off the chalk powder that was neglected from the duster. 

Summer had long since left them so Yamaguchi's freckles were receding back to only his cheeks. At the height of summer his freckles would reach his shoulders, to his fingertips, his legs, any place that was exposed to the sun. 

He detested his freckles, really. They reminded him of dirt, and who would like a dirty boy? 

Yachi made a point to say they added charm to him and frankly, it was the only thing that kept him from trying to scrub his freckles off again. But that was probably the extent of his self loathing. Every time bad thoughts caught up to him and constricted him like ropes dragging him down he would shove them in a box and store them in a tiny corner in his mind. Not the best coping mechanism he could’ve thought of but it sufficed. Though there are times where Yamaguchi would be a courageous man. And those times would come in fits and bursts and told himself ‘no, these things I think about myself are not true and I will not be having it.’ 

These feelings were even more intense when it came to others. Unlike Tsukki he had a habit of letting people know what he feels. Those who fell victim to his brutal honesty was more often than not, Tsukishima. 

The tall blonde was very notorious for self deprecation and all around hatred for himself, believing he wasn’t good for himself or anyone. And Yamaguchi couldn’t stand it. Tsukishima was wonderful, and smart, and charismatic, and…

When did this become a thought tangent on all the redeeming qualities of Tsukki?

Pulling his fingers away from the chalk holder below the chalkboard he noticed the white powder stuck in between the texture of his fingerprints. Silently he chuckled to himself, it kind of looked like cocaine. 

With a clap of his hand to expel said dust he reached for the eraser and placed it back to where it was before he picked it up. He waved to the others students who was also on cleaning duty and excused himself for volleyball. 

\------------

“Yamaguchi...If it’s not too much trouble, would you be okay with me trying to tie up your hair?” Yachi timidly approached him as he entered the gym, kreening her head to be able to see him.

Despite what it looks like Yamaguchi was pretty tall for an average Japanese boy at the age of fifteen. He was 5’10 and compared to Tsukki, who was the tallest by a considerable margin of 6’3, and was always positioned at his side, he only made it to his lips. 

Yachi, on the other hand, was a startling 4’10, making Yamaguchi an entire foot taller than her. And that was another thing that he found so cute about her, not that the list was short and needed to be filled.

“Sure! Anything for you Yachi.” Crap, that sounded a bit too cheerful, and it made both their cheeks flush. With a bit awkward but gleeful eye aversion he sat down on the wooden floor, sure his teammates would be okay with him spending a minute or two hanging out with Yachi.

He tried his best to lean into her hands as to not to make her arms tired from having to reach up so high, relaxing once her fingers tangled into his dark green locks. His hair wasn’t too difficult to work with as it was long and layered, Yachi slowly combing the strands into a half ponytail. 

“Hey! Little Yamaguchi is back from class duty!” The ever excited Tanaka exclaimed as he noticed his figure sitting there, missing the ball coach Ukai had set to him. To be clear, Tanaka only called him that due to him being an underclassman, Yamaguchi was actually taller than him.

He stifled a bit and only looked at them with his eyes, refraining from tilting his head so that Yachi wouldn’t mess up whatever she was doing, but there was a taut pull on his hair. “Hey.”

Nishinoya, in classic fashion of being a libero, dove in and landed on his stomach, laying down with his head propped up by his arms looking up at the two. Yachi let out a small squeak of surprise as she glanced over, her tongue sticking out a bit from concentration to get the band around Yamaguchi's hair as much as was aloud. 

“What are you two doing?” His question was a bit too loud for the both of them, but they were used to this from Noya.

“I-um-..wanted to try and do someone else's hair… and Yamaguchi has nice hair!” It was surprising to hear Yachi be able to stutter out a sentence like that and the team who was slowly migrating to that end of the gym was collectively proud of her. The libero hummed in agreement and kicked his legs in the air as she finished up with his hairdo. 

His hair was elegantly braided to the sides of his head leading to the ponytail tied up with similar ties like Yachi with stars in the back. Unlike Yachis, however, the stars were a pale yellow color and went well with his dark shade of hair.

“Wow Yachi! You did an amazing job! Yamaguchi is as pretty as a girl!” Hinata jumped up and down as he observed her handywork.

“Boys can be pretty too.” Yamaguchi pointed out, a twinge of resentment in his eyes as he looked over.

“They can, but not as pretty as Kiyoko-san!” The resident skinhead yelled, looking towards Kiyoko to see her reaction only for her to only ignore him. To no surprise it made Tanaka shiver, thrilled to receive the cold shoulder. 

“Do you think you could do my hair too Yachi-chan?” Hinata sat in front of her, making Yamaguchi take a step back to give the two some space. She nodded enthusiastically and began to try and detangle the flame colored mess presented before her. 

“Thank you for this beautiful braid Yachi-san.” Yamaguchi politely said as he bowed in respects to her. Small pink hues appeared on her cheeks as she nodded with a small smile.

“It’s really no problem I asked if I could in the first place”

“I think it’s wonderful.” His fingers ghosted his hair, careful not to move his strands out of place. 

“As much as I love having this fun bonding moment we can have it after practice.” Daichi clapped his hands to get the clubs attention, standing just outside the perimeter of the court. Those standing easily walked back to where they had left off and with a bit of protest Nishinoya got off the ground to join too. Though the captain was gracious enough to let Yachi finish giving Hinata pig tails that resembled his sisters before resuming practice.

“It’s nice of you to join us for practice Yamaguchi-kun.” Daichi firmly patted Yamaguchi's back as he ran past him, both of them joining the court. 

It felt nice to join practice in his humble opinion.


	2. Chapter 2: Right Brain Left Brain

Tsukishima Kei was by no means a genius, but at the very least he wasn’t as stupidly dependent on his instinct like the rest of the boys on the volleyball team. 

His sneakers made a thump against the court floor as he landed, blocking a spike from Tanaka, a small smirk on his face. Although it didn’t feel quite as satisfying as when Yamaguchi was there to cheer him on. Not that he would ever admit but Tsukishima enjoyed his words and little gestures of affirmations more than he leads on. When Yamaguchi goes overzealous with it is where he draws the line. 

“Damn you four-eyes!” Tanaka growled and glared at him, Tsukishima ultimately ignoring him, pivoting as he watched Hinata and Kageyama bicker. Normally he would say some snide comments about the two and how childish they were acting but it seemed pointless without Yamaguchi.

Earlier in the clubroom with all of them changing Daichi, typical for the captain, asked him where Yamaguchi was. Tsukki was, to be blunt, blunt about his answer and told him he was on cleaning duty. This, of course, led to Sugawara using Yamaguchi as an example as a model student that Hinata should strive for, reliable and kind. There was an unspoken agreement between all of them that Yamaguchi was the best first year, socially speaking. 

Unfortunately those skills wouldn’t magically equate to his skills in volleyball. It was one of the reasons he wasn’t part of the start up, not that he wasn’t good but there were others who did better under the pressure of the court and was more useful in more common situations.

In other words being on the start up was like a lock. Some could fit with a bit of a hassle and others were smoothly inserted, like a fish in water. Take Kageyama for example, he was probably akin to a key that could open all locks in volleyball. While in contrast to Hinata he was able to fit one lock in volleyball, a powerful and fast quick, but it was a lock that was vital. Yamaguchi was a pinch server, meaning the lock that matched his key was only available sometimes during matches but that didn’t mean he was useless.   
In fact, Tsukishima found real value in him. He had a firm belief that Yamaguchi was as good, if not better, than himself. 

But if only Yamaguchi would grow a backbone.

Tsukishima knows that Yamaguchi doesn’t need protecting, he was strong, but Yamaguchi himself didn’t believe it. Otherwise he wouldn’t apologize everytime Tsukishima told him to shut up. 

To be honest if Yamaguchi didn’t cling to Tsukishima like hair to a static balloon he wasn’t sure if he would be friends with him. Tsukishima was pretty sure he didn’t need friends and he still doesn’t, but damn are these volleyball kids persistent. 

After walking away from Yamaguchi from the park he didn’t expect him to pop up during Volleyball practice. Back then Yamaguchi was merely half the size of Tsukishima. 

The blonde had always grown at an alarming rate, surpassing his brothers height in the middle of his junior high career. That isn’t to say Yamaguchi did not grow as well, the gap had grown smaller between their height every year and a small tangent Tsukishima would sometimes entertain is that he would grow taller than himself. Though that notion never came to pass. 

What hooked onto his ankle to pull him out of his swirling thoughts that he didn’t so often indulge in and bring him back to the boring reality of volleyball was Hinata's exclamation about Yamaguchi's appearance. 

Looking over he saw the boys huddled around Yamaguchi and Yachi sitting on the floor, seeing particular parts of them through the gaps of the boys legs. He moved closer, close enough to be able to see past their heads and know what was happening but far enough to not be lumped into the group. 

Tsukishima was never one for emotions. Although he had them he tended to side with his more logical thinking. When it came to handling others emotions and understanding them it was more of Yamaguchi's specialty. It was as if they were two halves of a brain, Tsukishima being the left and Yamaguchi being the right. 

When Yamaguchi wasn’t there to be the empath of the duo Tsukishima was even more so difficult to handle. He would easily get on people's nerves and that was another thing to put on the list of ‘Why Tsukishima Kei Doesn’t Have Any Friends.’ 

The blonde was known for being salty for a reason and it was for his limited range of emotional displays. Annoyance, Irritation, displeasure, disgust, smugness and on rare occasion frustration. Although if it came to be too much to the point of ‘angst’ Yamaguchi would be there to find him and drag him out of that state of mind by force. 

Maybe Yamaguchi was a reason Tsukishima didn’t really have any other friends. He was too much of a good person. Why would he have anyone else when Yamaguchi made up all his needs? Affirming, kind, gentle, but when needed brave, abrasive and stern. It’s a wonder how he hasn’t become the most popular boy in class yet. 

However at this moment there was something else, tugging at Tsukishima. Not in a particular area, but a general yet faint tugging when he saw Yamaguchi with his hair up with a smile on his face. This feeling was foreign and new, arriving and fleeting at the same time. 

Yamaguchi stood up and with a blink the feeling was gone and Tsukishima was left to wonder if it was really there in the first place. No matter, he wasn’t really one to dwell on those types of things anyway. As fast as it had left Tsukishima had dropped it as well. Dropped just like the boys as they dropped to do diving drills around the court. 

Sometimes Tsukishima really hated trying so hard for volleyball.

\--------

The first years all walked the same area to travel home for a short while. At the intersection just after Coach Ukais shop Hinata rode up the hill back to his house. Tsukishima wonders how he still has the energy to ride up the mountain after a multitude of hours practicing his quick and other activities where he moved around so much. 

Kageyama lived in a farther neighborhood than Tsukishima and Yamaguchi so he kept on walking along the main road as the pair walked into the Neighborhood. However they did live in different subdivisions of the Neighborhood since it was a fairly large one. 

Tsukishima had a habit of wearing his headphones whenever he was able, people made too much noise for his taste and if he was forced to listen to something as he simply could not shut his ears it might as well choose to listen to something he liked. Half the time it was music (which genre he has never disclosed with anyone, with the exception of Yamaguchi) and half the time they were audiobooks. 

But right now they hung loosely around his neck, under his blazer collar but resting atop his sweater vest and button-up. Boys don’t normally wear the sweater vest and blazer together, especially when it wasn’t as cold for one to be typically layering up but Tsukishima had a tall and thin figure that got cold easily. 

Whenever Tsukishima was with Yamaguchi he made an effort to at least listen to half of the things he rambled about. The shorter boy had learned how to fill up the silence between the two when he could and when there was nothing to say it was still a comfortable silence. 

“-and I’m surprised they let me leave class duties so early!” He finished his sentence, rubbing his neck. It was only then when Tsukishima tuned in and it was one of those rare instances where he actually put more than just a hum as input.

“Knowing you, you probably were there for most of the clean up.” He looked up above him, cursing the light pollution for blocking out the sparkling sky above them. The blues of the sky seemed to be smeared with a shade lighter than usual due to the street lamps and windows from the houses. It would’ve been such a beautiful evening and Tsukishima would be able to draw those invisible lines so familiar to him between the stars and he and Yamaguchi would’ve had a much more engaging conversation about that instead.

On the flipside Yamaguchi was looking down at the pavement of the road, observing every single discrepancy in the smooth stone stretching before them. In the cracks of the roads were the soil that once laid there before the cement was laid down, life somehow being able to sprout from those millimeter wide gaps. Every sprout grew at their own pace; some tall and bent over from the weight of their own grain. Others just breaking through the ground with equal opportunity to perish or thrive. 

Unlike Tsukishima who had gained wonder and enjoyment in things out of reach from a mortal man such as dinosaurs and stars, Yamaguchi found simple enjoyment in tangible and real things. Things he could touch and see, like a garden or people. Not that Tsukishima didn’t like people, wait, no, on second thought Tsukishima didn’t like people.   
Tadashi glanced over to his friend, observing his features. His pale face outlined by the silver glow of the moon when in between street lights, his hair slightly tousled from todays drills, his thick, black rimmed glasses. Tsukishima was a real, tangible, touchable human being. That was something that Yamaguchi liked about him, he was real, in the realest way anyone could ever be.

“Yamaguchi.” He was almost startled by the sound of his own name and his walk cycle was momentarily disrupted.

“Yeah..?” 

“You missed your turn.”

Tsukishima was right, these houses weren’t lining the streets on the way to his house. In fact, he could see Tsukishima's house roughly a block away, meaning he missed his turn two blocks away. How did he miss it?

“Gomen Tsukki!” He bowed in apology and turned around quickly, walking at a brisk pace to get back to his turn. Tsukishima watched him walk away, noticing his hair was still tied up in a beautiful braid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me updating this this frequently will not become a habit. I just have fun writing this and I don't have a fixed writing schedule for this story. I just hope you enjoyed my mess of chapter.


	3. Chapter 3: The feeling of the moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally updated after a month

“I’m telling you Kei I think she might just be the one.”

“I don’t care, get out of my room.”

Tsukishima wasn’t fond of people invading his personal space, especially if it’s his brother. Yes they were somewhat close, and momentarily their bond was fractured due to the continuous lies that he had fed him about his practices in volleyball but he is over it now. Of course, with the help of Yamaguchi and his yelling (which by the way, sort of hurts Tsukishima's ears).

Tsukishima was at his desk, working on an essay on Don Quixote (not the store), a rather annoyed look on his face. Despite this being his room he did not play his music out loud, mostly so people to enter, such as his mom, would know not to disturb him. And yet here Akiteru was, disregarding all of Tsukishima's flags of ‘leave me the hell alone’ he had gone through all of the effort of setting up. 

Currently the other blonde was situated on Tsukishima’s bed, lying on his stomach and holding a pillow close with his arms as he rested his head into the pillow.

“It’s only been 2 months but I think she’s perfect” He squished his face further into the pillow with bliss. To that Tsukishima's only response was an eyeroll. 

These types of things weren’t Tsukishima’s favorite things to talk about, not by a long shot. There was a million and one different things to talk about and his brother just had to talk about romance and other people and it wasn’t a pleasant conversation.

“Do you have anyone in your life Kei?” Not that Akiteru didn’t know the obvious answer to that question was a strict no but it never hurts to ask. With a heavy sigh Tsukishima used his foot to swivel in his chair and face his brother who was lounging in his bed with a small smile on his face. Tsukishima on the other hand had his usual bored expression (although this time it was laced with the faintest hint of annoyance) and had his arm resting on his desk.

“What do you think Akiteru-san?” He arched an eyebrow at him, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.  
In response Akiteru rocked his body until he sat up, still clutching a pillow close to his chest.

“It’s a harmless question Kei.”

“And a useless one.” He averted his eyes “I mean, I don’t get it, how you talk about this girl so vividly.” Without thought he began to lightly wring his fingers, a nervous habit he doesn’t usually indulge in but he has his moments.

Akiteru sat up a bit straighter at this response as his eyes widened just by a fraction of a millimeter. It was no surprise that Kei wasn’t very familiar with all of this personally but he never imagined that he didn’t understand the concept entirely.

“Kei-”

“Actually never mind I don’t think I want to learn about it.” As quickly as he showed his moment of ‘vulnerability’ it quickly vanished like a bullet train passing by a station. 

“Awe c’mon Kei I want to show you the amazing world of looooove.” He dragged out the o in love very dramatically, the amount of sugar in his voice almost had Tsukishima choking. 

“Sorry, but no. I refuse to believe you’re ‘in love’ with this girl only after two months of dating her” 

“Well how would you know?”

“Yeah, how would I know.”

There was a pause in conversation as the two boys only looked at each other, as if it was an unspoken, unofficial staring contest. It was true he didn’t get what Akiteru was going through, love in a non family way or platonic best friend way and he was pretty doubtful he ever will. Even if he was so ‘lovestruck’ as his brother he would no doubt regret it and try his best to shy away from it to the point where the spell wears off and he can be his normal, salty self again.

“Well maybe you do, you just don’t know it.” Heaving himself off his bed, leaving the pillow in an unneat manner on his bed he got up to a standing position. Tsukishima looked up at his older brother as he left his room, wondering why he would leave on such a weird note.

Surely Tsukishima would know whether or not he had fallen in love with someone, right?

\--------

Yamaguchi didn’t usually spend his nights outside, wistfully wandering through the quiet streets of his neighborhood, but today presented itself as quite beautiful and it would be a shame to waste the limited days of semi-warmth before the winter chills settled in. 

Moving away from the stone walls and strict streets of his little sub division in the neighborhood (although he took his sweet time admiring the aged qualities of the place and the plants that sprouted between the cracks) to a more green area.

There were tiny pockets of greenery stashed away in the neighborhood to make it more enticing for families to move in the one Yamaguchi was currently visiting was one of the biggest. It took roughly three blocks of space and bled into the edge of the neighborhood into a wooded area large enough to have an abundance of foxes residing in it. Bushes lined the edges and were squared off by concrete, marking where development began and ended. 

There was a classical swing set situated near a clove of trees, clustered around to make shade for anyone occupying the benches below to offer refreshing shade from the harsh sun during summer. Cutting through the grass blades and clovers he meanders to the swing set, completely ignoring the dirt path leading from the entrance of the park to the benches to the forest and kept his head down. 

Yamaguchi carefully stepped as he didn’t want to crush any flowers beneath his heel but also silently observed the ground with a somewhat held breath. 

The freckled boy has always enjoyed the earth, not in a hippie kind of way as he wasn’t very fond of the label, but in a ‘stop and smell the flowers’ kind of guy. He enjoyed how each blade of grass generally grow at its own length and thickness. Some more taut than the other, floppy and wilty, a deep shade of jaded green or a lively vibrant green, he found them all charming in their own unique way.

One may thing admiring grass of all plants is weird and admiring each blade of grass individually was a waste of effort and time but it didn’t really matter to Yamaguchi, all plant life was worth his while. Even if it was more commonplace than most plants. 

His feet met the waning of the grass as it slowly dissolved into dirt, shadow cast on in by the worn yet still sturdy wing set. With the ease of his long legs Yamaguchi climbed into the seat and sat squarely into the swing and held onto the chains supporting the seat. 

He rocked back and forth, looking at his legs move with the swings, nothing in particular in his head. Even with all this alone time there wasn’t a string of thoughts he was delving himself into. To put it simply he was just living in the moment.

And in that moment he noticed the almost blue light on his legs get brighter into a white, illuminating everything around him with a certain fragileness he couldn’t quite describe. Usually it was Tsukishima who was the one always looking up to the sky, admiring the celestial things in life, not Yamaguchi, but with such an intense light that made everything glow how could he not look up?

Facing his freckles upwards his dull amber eyes were filled with the pristine and sharp light of the moon, in all its radiant glory. Yamaguchi was fairly surprised that no one else would be here considering it was such a beautiful full moon and the sky was void of any cloud but he wasn’t complaining. 

The moon was so bright it eclipsed all the other stars in the sky, only the ones at the far edges of the dark blue shell were vainly visible. Yamaguchi let out a soft, beautiful chuckle bringing a hand to his green hair (Though it looked like a pale lime under the light of the moon) to unconsciously play with it. 

Tonight the moon reminded Yamaguchi of his best friend, Tsukki. Tsukishima was the moon and everyone else were stars. There were nights where there seemed to be no moon or just a sliver, barely showing any light upon the earth's surface but letting the stars shine brightly and connect into constellations. 

But tonight, the moon was in its full potential, its full glory, radiating its light so brilliantly it outshone the stars, letting them sink into the inky blackness of space. It was so powerful Yamaguchi had trouble staring at it for more than a minute or two, burning its presence into his retinas.  
This made Yamaguchi’s mouth into a thin line in thought, if all the stars were players which star was himself? It was an odd train of thought but he didn’t have the intention of derailing it anytime soon. 

While he thought carefully about his answer he decided it would be nice to just observe for now as a backburner. Even though it seemed more somber the quiet stillness the moon cast over everything seemed so real. Real and fragile. As if each leaf extending closest to the moon would break and shatter like porcelain and clatter against the earth below. A melancholy light that Yamaguchi had unconsciously been accustomed to and had learned to love.

With a decision in his head he turns to the moon once more, this time the light in his eyes even more cold than the last time he set eyes upon the moon. He would be the closest star to the moon. The star that was always outshone by the moon no matter what phase it was in.

After all, who would take notice of the delicate beauties of Yamaguchi when someone is as alarmingly beautiful as Tsukishima was constantly at his side? 

The moonlight was bright, and covered everything around it, swaddling Yamaguchi like a blanket. His usual glow of his freckles paled in comparison to that of the moon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo I also have a tumblr (still just baguantte) if y'all want to see more tsukkiyama, but in visual art form  
> basically what I'm saying is that I draw Tsukkiyama and a fuck ton of other ships and characters too


	4. Chapter 4: Ice Cream Flavors

It was Saturday, Tsukishima’s supposed day off. 

Keyword was supposed.

Sure, they had practice on Saturdays on occasion, but today was not one of those days.

And yet, he was still hanging out with a couple of losers for volleyballs for heads.

“Hey you already had your ice cream Hinata! Stop stealing from me!”

“I just want to see if you really got milk flavored ice cream! Really Kageyama how basic can you be?”

“At least I didn’t get orange flavored ice cream! How cliche can you get?”

To say Tsukishima was annoyed by the constant bickering of the other first years was an understatement. Yamaguchi, who had dragged him along insisting that he should come out of the house more, chuckled beside him for a bit, sticking close to the tall blonde like always. 

“I seriously don’t understand how Hinata is the oldest out of us first years.” Tsukishima grumbled into his scarf, which was a nice navy blue to compliment his sweater atop his button up. Despite everyone in his group thinking he was a tad weird to already be wearing scarves this early in the season they didn’t question it.

“Oi! You two! There’s no use crying over whatever ice cream flavor you got and just EAT it!” Tanaka pushed the two first years heads apart as they began to start growling real close to each other. This time he resolved their fighting without punching them both in the face but this was less dire than back then. 

“Says you Tanaka-senpai! You got vanilla ice cream!” Hinata looked at him as if he was a hypocrite. Because he was.

“Vanilla ice cream is dependable and a comfort flavor okay!” Tanaka maybe got a bit too  
defensive, causing Nishinoya (who had eaten his soda popsicle in two bites) to let out boisterous laughter. This consequently, was giving Tsukishima a headache from all the sheer dumbass he was being presented with.

“Sorry I’m late! I missed the first train here!” A small and somewhat nervous voice called out from a distance. It was Yachi, her hair done up in her signature small side pigtale, this time with pale pink stars. 

“Hello Yachi!” For once Yamaguchi left Tsukishima’s side to meet half way with her, a friendly smile he always seemed to sport. 

“Hi Yamaguchi!” She matched his smile as they walked together to the rest of the group who had somewhat calmed down (Hinata and Kageyama were more or less tamed with a couple of jabs and prods at each other) and they all treated her as well. Although Tsukishima gave her a sideways glance between his long blonde lashes hanging from his drooping eyelids, in typical Tsukishima fashion.

“What are we even doing again today anyway?” Hinata piped up, always the verbal one no matter how the atmosphere was. Leave it to the redhead to not be able to read the room and break the tension in somehow the cleanest way possible. 

“Just hang out! It’s not everyday we’re together for the sake of something other than volleyball.” Tanaka scratched his chin, somewhat fumbling with his words hand having pauses of thought.

“So...You don’t actually have any plans and we’re here on a whim.” Tsukki deadpanned.

“Can we play volleyball then?” Hinata took off his small drawstring backpack and placed it in front of him. It was a simple light blue color and had black print of the brand at the bottom. 

“Is that…?” Yamaguchi trailed off for Tsukishima to finish.

“A volleyball.” Tsukishima’s tone was more exasperated than normal to see the shorty pull out a pump and a deflated blue and yellow volleyball.

“Awe c’mon! Volleyball is fun!” He whined, Kageyama silently supporting this notion behind him

“Dude! Give it a rest! Today is our day off! Let’s just relax!” Tanaka hit him over the head softly with his fist. Hinata made a strange face but ultimately pouted at the denial of his favorite activity. 

“Um...how about we go on a train and visit somewhere different?” Yachi suggested, although almost drowned out by the arguing between Tanaka, Kageyama and Hinata. 

“That sounds like a great idea Yachi!” Nishinoya gave her a hearty slap on the back which made her lose her balance momentarily but recovered quickly with a nervous smile. “I propose we go to the beach!” he yelled excitedly.

“Oh hell no it is way too cold for that.” Tsukishima folded his arms together as if he could already feel the chilling ocean winds whipping at his thin frame. 

“Let’s visit Kenma!” Hinata suggested, only to be quickly shut down by Kageyama.

“We can’t visit him boke, he lives all the way in Tokyo.”

“Yeah? So what’s the problem?”

“It would take us all day to get there!” 

“Yeah well it’s worth it!”

Their bickering continued as the rest of them brainstormed ideas. Tsukishima was somewhat grateful that he actually got to put his input into what activity they were going to do today because he would be able to shoot down any terribly radical ideas. 

In the end they all chose to take a train to go to Sendai and look around as they were usually there strictly for volleyball business. 

\-----

“Hinata hurry up we’re going to miss the train!” Tanaka pressed as Hinata was having trouble putting in his train ticket into the gate. Frantically he tried to shove his ticket into the slot only for there to be a red flashing light of rejection to spit out his ticket. Of course this made him panic more and make the ticket even less readable than before as he shoved it in harder.

“I-I’m trying!” He looked up at them as if he was going to cry from all the pressure he was in.

Tsukishima snorted, if he had just actually stayed calm for once instead of frantically jumping around then maybe he would be able to get through the gates. He paused as he felt a hand press against his back and looked over to see Yamaguchi start to push him and Yachi to the direction of the station platform as the train began pulling up. 

Tanaka looked over at the three of them and seemed to understand what was happening. “We’ll see you there.” He gave them a small hand gesture of confirmation as they went on ahead. 

Although as they went they were able to hear the commotion they were leaving behind.

“You know what! I’ll just jump it!”

“Hinata no! That’s illegal!” 

There a sound of a thud and Nishinoyas laughter. 

“Shit they’re coming! Run Hinata!” The sound of scuffled and frantic shoes filled the air. Yachi wanted to turn her head to look before Tsukki gave her a sharp glare.

“We don’t know them.”

She let out a tiny squeak and a weak nod as they boarded the train, sounds of yelling being sealed off as the doors closed behind them.

The bus was moderately occupied as it was the middle of a weekend but it wasn’t as jammed pack as Tokyo trains. Yachi and Yamaguchi found a seat near the end of the car they were situated in and Tsukishima took hold of a bar connected to the ceiling, he was more than tall enough to reach. 

Yachi and Yamaguchi chatted quietly amongst themselves as the train moved. They considered each other friends and even though they still had those awkward moments where their looks would linger a bit too long or there was an overlap in their voices they still had a pleasant time.  
Tsukishima on the other hand can’t exactly say the train ride was fun persay, but it wasn’t exactly the worst either. Overall it was okay, like most things he would experience. How was practice? Okay. How was School? Okay. What do you think of this person? They’re okay. Okay was an okay adjective and Tsukishima was more than comfortable sticking with its vagueness. 

Occasionally he would look below to his two friends (at least Yachi was the closest to being considered a friend in the volleyball club besides Yamaguchi) chatting up. They seemed happy enough and that was okay with him. Mostly he would spend his gaze on the scenery whizzing past him. From buildings to stretches of green to slowly building up to populated areas again, Sendai filling his vision. Sendai was much bigger than their own home town but not as big as Tokyo, but it did have its fair share of beautiful spots and tourist locations. 

“What do you think Tsukki?” Tsukishima was pulled out of his white noise to look down at Yamaguchi, who of course had his usual soft smile and radiant freckles looking up at him. He wasn’t sure what the question is but he was probably more or less going to be indifferent to it.

“We were thinking of getting Yachi some ice cream as we wait for the rest of the group to get here since we had it without her.” Considerate. Yamaguchi was always considerate no matter who it was. 

“Sure.” Although it was answered in the same monotone voice he always had, at least with other people, it was cause for celebration for Yachi and Yamaguchi. This prompted them to talk about their favorite ice cream flavors. Adorably enough Tsukishima and Yamaguchi share the same favorite flavor of ice cream, strawberry.

Yachi, however, was having trouble picking her favorite type of ice cream and was somewhat having a crisis over it.

“Calm down Yachi-san it’s only ice cream.” Yamaguchi chuckled under his breath. It was rather cute to him that Yachi was fretting over something so frivolous as ice cream. 

“B-but what if when I get there they judge me for my ice cream choice! Or get annoyed that I take so long? And then they ban me from all ice cream joints and then every food joint and then I won't be able to eat and I’ll have to live on the streets and eat garbage!” For once Tsukishima gave her an amused smile, borderline mocking. It may not seem like a big difference but Tsukishima rarely gave smiles without the soul intent of pissing someone else off. 

“I-I don’t want you to not be able to eat Yachi!” Of course Yamaguchi himself was his own sponge of anxiety, soaking up her nervous energy as well. Yamaguchi looked rather pale, as if he really believed that could happen from not knowing what to get at an ice cream shop. 

The two paused their anxious antics to turn their gaze at Tsukishima, who was laughing. Not in excess like how Tanaka or Nishinoya does nor is it mocking laughter like when Hinata served a ball right into Kageyama’s head. It was real, genuine laughter. 

Yamaguchi isn’t typically fazed by this considering he laughed all the time when they were alone together but they were in a public space. With Yachi, someone who was only his barely friend. 

“Only you two would be able to fret so hard over something as simplistic as ice cream flavors.” He smiled smally as the train stopped at the Sendai station. Letting go of the handle he began to walk out.

“Did-...did we break Tsukishima??” Yachi looked back at Yamaguchi with absolute horror and shock spelled on her face.

“I...maybe?” 

“Are you two getting off or do you want to get carried away to someplace different?” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow as he idled near the door, waiting for the two. They both scrambled out of their seats to jump out of the train before the doors closed, quickly getting over Tsukishima's ludicrously airy and pleasant laugh. 

In the end, Yachi decided to go with green tea ice cream. It reminded her of Yamaguchi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're finally getting somewhere i have no plans about the plot but i am trying

**Author's Note:**

> This is really messy, just writing this on my down time so I'm not sure how frequent updates will be.


End file.
